that's why we are now building a nato missile defense system to protect our populations against milz attacks. piracy, this is the reasons why we conduct counterpiracy operation. so across the board we have taken on responsibility for new missions but, again, with the core task to protect our citizens against any thrat. >> rose: how much of that is borne by the united states, both in terms of budget and in terms of resources? >> a lot, of course. the united states is the biggest ally accounting for around 80% of the overall defense expenditure in our alliance. so it really is a huge contribution. but politically i think it's of jut most importance also for a suppower like the united states to have allies in europe, like-minded democracies. i find it of utmost importance that democracies in europe and north america stand together shoulder to shoulder to defend our common values. >> rose: when you talk about missile defense, against missiles coming from where? >> well, actually, our missile defense system is not directed against any specific country but it aims at protecting our populat